I Know You're Gold
by SethTheBlooper
Summary: After Ash's Oshawott finds himself lost in an ocean and aimlessly wandering, he comes in contact with a familiar Pokemon, one he had previously traveled with, and a bond forms between the two over the course of time. Oshawott x Meloetta. Contains humor and adventure as well as romance and drama.
1. Lost

It was a stormy night in Kanto.

A massive cloud was looming over Pallet Town, engulfing the small village in rain and darkness. The power was out and the Pokemon residing at Professor Oak's sanctuary were all cooped up under the roof of his lab. It was almost pitch black inside, with only a little bit of light coming from a Charizard and an Infernape's tails. It was relatively uncomfortable for almost all the Pokemon living there.

Except for one.

The Pokemon was an Oshawott, one who had traveled with a young boy named Ash through Unova for much of his life and was left at Pallet Town when Ash had traveled to Kalos. In fact, almost all of the Pokemon residing in this location belonged to Ash. However, this naive, fun-loving Pokemon seemed to be enjoying the rain quite a bit, dancing around and wallowing in the mud. He rarely went outside, as well, as he was also somewhat lazy.

Ash's Sceptile eventually caught notice of Oshawott and angrily stuck his head out the window. "Kid!" he yelled. "What the heck are you doing? Get back inside, you're gonna get sick!"

Oshawott turned to Sceptile with a light smile. "I told you, Sceptile, if I allow myself to absorb the energy of the storm, I might just be able to evolve," he explained. "That way, people will respect me more!"

Sceptile facepalmed. "You're nuts, kid. Get your goofy schnoz back inside before you get struck by lightning," he said, grimacing. Oshawott looked at him again, this time looking much more serious. "I'm not gonna get struck by lightning," he said. "Just let me be happy for once...please." He continued running around in the field, when suddenly, a nearby lightning strike knocked Oshawott back and stunned him.

He fell over on his backside, with the rain dripping into his eyes, hindering his vision. As a startled flock of Spearow flew away, Sceptile broke through the door of the lab to come to Oshawott's aid. "I told you, kid!" he exclaimed angrily. "Get back inside now, come on!" Oshawott struggled to stand up as he was picked up by Sceptile. All of a sudden, another thunderbolt hit a nearby tree, knocking a nearby branch right off. The wind flung it around wildly until it hit Sceptile's knee and knocked him back, having him let go of Oshawott in the process. This knocked them both out, with Sceptile weakly lying in the field under a tree branch and Oshawott being sent flying into a wild river, being carried downstream as the rain fell.

Many hours later, Oshawott woke up. The storm had cleared, and Oshawott was in what seemed to be the middle of the ocean.

"Hello? Is anyone here? Helloooo? Sceptile? Buizel? Snivy?" As Oshawott helplessly cried out the named of some of his friends at Oak's lab, he realized he was indeed all on his own. He wandered the waters aimlessly for a bit and then dived down. No one underwater either, with the exception of a sleeping Gyarados he certainly did not want to wake up, for he had woken up numerous angry Pokemon in the past. Oshawott moped. He had never gotten himself in a situation as serious as this and had no idea what to do. Angrily, he climbed onto the nearest islet and slammed his scalchop on the sand. He didn't bother picking it back up either. He was that depressed.


	2. Familiar Faces

Oshawott continued to lie on the sand, crying. What could he do?

But then, out of nowhere, he heard muffling in the sand. He picked his head up off the ground and saw a claw come out of the sand. He jumped back as a crab-like figure emerged.

"Ay, quit your blubberin', kid! I'm tryna sleep here! Gets pretty quiet out here, ya know. No place for you...you...what the heck are you, anyway?"

Oshawott stood up. "Um...sorry, sir...I-I didn't mean to disturb you..." he stammered. The crab looked surprisingly content with Oshawott's apology. "Eh...it's fine, kid. Name's Krabby," he said as he spat out sand. "Why you cryin', anyway?"

"My name's Oshawott...I...uh...I got lost. I got knocked out in that storm and carried downstream...I live in Pallet Town, an-"

Before Oshawott could finish his sentence, Krabby barged in. "Say no more, kid. It's actually not that far from here. Come." Oshawott followed Krabby to the edge of the islet. "If you're strong enough to pull through that storm without a bruise on ya face, you should be able to go down that current," said Krabby as he pointed to a section of the water that looked faster than what was around it. "It leads to a little island close to Pallet Town and ya should be able to find ya way from there."

Oshawott waded through the water for a bit. "But...what if I'm not strong enough?" he asked with a worried look. Krabby began to dig himself into the sand again. "Just go, kid. You'll be fine. It's kinda impossible to forget whatcha doin'," he said, somewhat annoyed. Oshawott sighed. "Ok..." Oshawott dived into the water and swam for a while, looking back to see if Krabby was watching him. However, the crab Pokemon was already deep underground. Feeling unsure, Oshawott kept paddling backward until he came in contact with the current.

Startled, Oshawott flailed around until he was sure he knew where he was going. He swam along the path, holding onto some rocks to steady himself. When all of a sudden-it occurred to him that he had forgotten his signature scalchop! In a panic, he attempted to swim back to the islet, but he was too far. He tried to use Hydro Pump to propel himself towards it, but it didn't work against the strong current. Finally, he tried to Aqua Jet back to it, but he hit his head on a seaweed covered boulder by accident, knocking him out once again, and covering him with foliage.

"Hello? Hello? Are you alright? Please, wake up!"

Oshawott slowly opened his eyes. He was on an island, covered in seaweed, feeling pretty weak. In front of him knelt a Pokemon about his size, with long green hair and a black dress, an earpiece, and bright blue eyes. "Ah, you're ok! I was so worried," she said with a smile. Oshawott removed the foliage from his face. "Yeah, more or less..." he said. The other Pokemon smiled, and then looked at Oshawott to make sure he was ok. Then she looked a bit puzzled. "Hey, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Is this deja vu, or have we met?" she asked. Oshawott got up and stretched. "I don't know...but you do look pretty familiar. By any chance do you live in Unova?"

The friendly Pokemon began floating in the air. "Yeah, I do! I'm here with my bodyguard on a vacation. We're gonna be here for quite a while, though-" And then it came to her. "Hold on a second...you're that Oshawott who was traveling with Ash in Eastern Unova! Hi!" Oshawott seemed startled, and then it came to him as well. "M-Meloetta? Is that you?!" Meloetta smiled. "Yep! It's so nice to see you again!"

The memories were all coming back to Oshawott. On his way to Undella Town with Ash, he met Meloetta and developed a huge thing for her, as her beauty, spirit, and personality were all so captivating to him. Upon arriving there, though, he met a Piplup who also had a thing for Meloetta, and they got into a huge conflict, often resulting in Oshawott hurting himself or others. By the time Piplup had left, he and Oshawott had made up, but Oshawott had felt that he had become nothing but an annoyance to Meloetta, and couldn't bring it upon himself to properly say goodbye, but instead blubbering and wanting to forget about the whole experience in the coming months. Nonetheless, he was very happy to see Meloetta again. But his stubborn attitude got ahead of him pretty quickly.

"No it isn't," he said, pouting. "I'm a nuisance and all I did was slow everything you wanted to do down. And I'm really sorry about that whole Team Rocket thing..."

Meloetta frowned. "Hey, that's not true. Just cause I hung out with Piplup a lot doesn't mean I don't like you. I know you were jealous. And that's just a feeling. We all have feelings," she explained. "Also, I don't blame you for not wanting to fight against Team Rocket. Those guys are scary." Oshawott felt reassured but at the same time he felt the need to change the subject. "I guess I'm just not feeling hot cause my scalchop is gone..." he said, pacing around the island. Meloetta looked a bit confused. "You mean this?" she said as she held up the shell. Oshawott was shocked. "Th-th-that's it! How did you get it?" he asked. Meloetta smiled. "A nice little crab fellow gave it to me. He said it belonged to someone making their way here."

Oshawott placed the shell on his stomach and thanked Meloetta. "You're adorable," she said with a smile. "What's been going on with you lately?"

Oshawott explained what happened after Meloetta left Eastern Unova, how he had been sent to Oak's lab and what had happened for the past few days, including the storm and the current. Meloetta seemed pretty intrigued all the way through. "That sounds crazy. You've been through a lot, haven't you?" she said. Oshawott shrugged and sat down with his feet in the water. "Meh, things do get tough. But what I've learned over the countless battles I've lost, the heartbreak I've suffered, and the conflict I've had, is that you have to move forward. You have to bounce back and keep a smile on your face, no matter what, and show off your pride to whoever you can. That's my motto, and even if it gets me into more trouble than good, it's just how I go about life."

Meloetta smiled. "I think that's a great motto," she said sweetly. "You see, I've got a tournament coming up. I'm not the best battler, obviously-"

"You'd still cream me," Oshawott interrupted. "Remember that one time?"

"Oh yeah, you were as red as a tomato!" Meloetta recalled. They both laughed.

"But anyways, Ridley is taking me to a battle tournament on Saturday, and it's gonna be really tough. It's putting a lot of stress on me," Meloetta said softly. She turned to Oshawott. "You know I'm a mythical Pokemon, right?"

"Of course I do!" he said. Meloetta turned back, looked at the ocean and sighed. "That puts even more stress on me," she continued. "Since I'm a mythical Pokemon, people bet money on me to win and count on my strength. Problem is...I'm not confident in myself...ever since the Team Rocket incident."

Oshawott's face went from confusion, to sadness, to confidence. "I know you'll win. I just know it! Remember how you beat up those Onix? Those things were crazy bulky! Hey...tell you what-" he paused as he put his stubby arm around Meloetta. "I'll be in the audience to support you. I'll make sure that everyone knows you're the best Pokemon out there. And we can train together! I promise!" he continued excitedly.

Meloetta looked a bit worried. "You will? You promise?"

Oshawott smiled. "I don't make promises I can't keep! I'm gonna make sure you get out there and win! We'll grow stronger together!"

Meloetta looked at him and smiled. "Deal." They shook hands.

Suddenly, Oshawott heard a familiar voice. "OSHAWOTT! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Oshawott knew he had to get back to Oak's lab quickly. "Oh...I gotta go now. Thanks for hanging out. It was so nice seeing you again! I'll talk to you tomorrow! Bye!" he shouted as he ran off.

Meloetta looked through the brush and smiled. "See ya," she said sweetly.


	3. Meet Her Again

"You're grounded."

The Pokemon sanctuary's ambassador and peace manager, Ash's Bulbasaur, had to break the news to Oshawott one way or another when he got back.

"What?! No, no, no, no, but I-I didn't do anything wrong!" Oshawott uttered in a panic. Bulbasaur grimaced. "You went outside despite the warnings everyone gave you, got hit by a branch and didn't come back to Pallet Town for hours. And you were clearly doing something else, as well. We heard you!" he said, concern in his eyes. "We're doing this for your own safety, Oshawott. For the coming week, you're going to stay in the lab."

Oshawott looked really stressed. He was sweating and almost looked like he was on the verge of tears. "But...I can't stay inside all week! I have to go see-"

"You have to go see who?" Bulbasaur said with a puzzled look on his face. Oshawott was about to tell him who, but he hesitated. "Forget it. I just...I just...there's gotta be a way I can make it up to you," he said, kicking the grass and facing the nearby forest. He watched as a Tangela bumped into a tree, making an apple drop. The vine Pokemon couldn't pick up the apple, and the apple was swooped up by a Pidgeotto. The bird Pokemon later dropped the apple, which was completely intact, but the Tangela was certain it was all gone, so it didn't bother turning around to eat the apple and instead began to walk away sadly.

Bulbasaur persisted that Oshawott take his punishment, and so he eventually did. But it wasn't long until someone sat down to join him in the lab's research room as he was flipping through books. "Sucks, doesn't it? Being grounded, I mean," said the Pokemon behind him in a somewhat sly yet friendly tone. Oshawott turned around with a frown on his face. "Don't rub it in, Snivy. It makes me feel like a baby. You don't know what I'm going through right now, either."

Snivy laughed. She was a sort of sister friend, and she would tease Oshawott a lot, often at inappropriate times. Nonetheless, she had a good heart and it was pretty hard to hate her, at least if you were friends with her. "Listen, Wott. I know EXACTLY what's going on. I heard the whole thing," she said, casually sitting on the professor's chair. Oshawott broke a sweat. "I promise I didn't call you what you think I called you-um-it was-it was Buizel!" he mistakenly spouted out. Snivy laughed. "No, stupid, not that. I'm talking about the situation with the"-she cleared her throat exaggeratedly-"old friend." Oshawott blushed. "How did you know?!" he whispered angrily.

"Well...let's just say your conversation wasn't the quietest thing in the world. In fact, almost all of us heard. Meloetta, huh? She's a cutie. I remember her. I'm kinda surprised you didn't make yourself look like a complete moron in front of her this time," Snivy continued. Oshawott looked extremely embarrassed. "Yeah, well, I don't have a crush on her anymore," he stated defensively. "We're just friends, ok?"

"Give it time," Snivy said rather confidently. "I heard how well you two were getting along. I'm pretty proud of you, honestly."

"Snivy, I'm sorry, but I've moved on. I don't think she's for me. I'm an annoyance and I'm way out of her league. Besides, I was doing some research earlier. Turns out she...doesn't even have a gender," Oshawott said in a mildly annoyed fashion. Snivy rolled her eyes. "Pfft, we both know that gender thing is ridiculous. And I'd honestly give her a chance if I were you. You have no idea how hard it is to come in direct contact with a mythical Pokemon, let alone twice. Just show her your optimistic self and she'll be all over you," she said. Oshawott attempted to interject, but Snivy continued. "Even if it's not your goal to be her boyfriend, just be her friend and support her, and she'll do the same to you. And I think you could use some support, especially from such an elusive Pokemon."

Oshawott pondered for a while, thinking about the whole situation. He knew he didn't have a crush on Meloetta anymore, and he was bent on leaving the past behind. However, he didn't want to just leave Meloetta alone out of nowhere. He knew he had made a promise to her to support her at the tournament and he did not want to go back on his promise. He remembered that they had grown to know each other quite a bit that morning out of seemingly nowhere, but that it felt good to vent to someone who wasn't there to experience the troubles with him. It wasn't until later that night that Oshawott gave Snivy a thumbs up. Or...a stumps up? Whatever.

The next day was a slow one. Oshawott was still grounded, the weather was cloudy and bland, and nothing really special was happening. That was, until later that night. Before Oshawott was about to fall asleep, he heard angelic, beautiful singing coming from outside. It sounded familiar. He put his ear up to the window and he recognized the voice; it was in fact Meloetta. Oshawott beamed for a second before frowning, remembering that he was still grounded. He started to walk back to bed until he heard a voice. "Go," it said. "Go see her." It was Snivy. "I can't, Snivy. I'm grounded," Oshawott responded. Snivy smirked. "I know," she said. "But does that matter? Come on, I'll cover you up. I promise." Oshawott sighed and shrugged. He snuck out of the building and went to crawl through the brush as Snivy looked on.

Oshawott crawled through the brush, and once he got to the beach, Meloetta was sitting right there, singing her beautiful song. She turned around. Her eyes were gleaming in the moonlight. "Good evening," she said sweetly. Oshawott couldn't help but blush. She looked really pretty. "G-good evening...um...your singing is...really nice..." he said. Meloetta giggled. "Thank you," she said happily as she floated over to him. "Come with me. I wanna show you something," she told him. Oshawott was confused, but at the same time he was happy that somebody was comfortable enough to want to go somewhere with him, so he decided to join her. She picked him up by his arms and flew with him over the ocean. Oshawott was flailing pretty wildly, paranoid that Meloetta would let go or that he would lose grip, but Meloetta assured him that he would be fine. They eventually reached their destination: a swamp. It was extremely remote; there was nothing but the sound of Kricketot chirping in the fields and Ninjask buzzing. Meloetta and Oshawott both put their feet in the water. "Isn't it peaceful?" Meloetta asked Oshawott. The sea otter Pokemon was confused as to why Meloetta wanted to bring him here, but he agreed with her, it was very peaceful. Suddenly, the sky appeared to light up in certain places. Oshawott was pointing wildly at the flashes of light as Meloetta giggled.

"The Volbeat and Illumise always come out this time of year and fly around the swamp area. It's really beautiful, and some people say that it symbolizes good luck," Meloetta explained. Oshawott jumped in the swamp and chased some of the bug types around as they happily played along. Meloetta, laughing, couldn't help but join them. The game of tag soon turned into a major splash war. "I'm gonna get ya," said Meloetta in a sing-song voice. "Oh yeah? Well, check this out!" Oshawott responded by using Razor Shell to create a massive wave that splashed Meloetta straight in the face. She began to crack up. The two Pokemon continued the splash war until they finally got tired and got out of the swamp, just so they could watch the Volbeat and Illumise rise into the sky. The two Pokemon lay on their backs on the grass. They looked at each other. "I guess luck isn't a superstition," Oshawott said. Meloetta smiled.

A true bond was really forming.


	4. Rough Morning

Lying in the grass that night as the Volbeat and Illumise flew around, Oshawott fell asleep pretty quickly. Meloetta noticed this and carefully flew him back to the brush as she lay him on the beach where they first came across each other. She smiled and flew back to her home.

It was pretty late at night. People and Pokemon all over were sound asleep, with the faint sounds of Kricketot chirping away.

Oshawott's nose began to itch in his sleep. He scratched his nose, but the itch wouldn't go away. He began to flail around in the sand, trying to get rid of the itch. Pretty soon, Oshawott was barely awake and pretty aggravated. With sleep in his eyes, he dunked his head in the water to try and get rid of whatever was on his nose. It finally went away, but Oshawott was wide awake now. He groaned and sat down near the beach. In the water, he saw a little note with tape on it; it was what was making his nose itch. He picked it up and flapped it in the air to dry it off a little bit before reading it.

"Hey, kid.

I saw you and that Meloetta girlie hanging out the other day. You're pretty lucky to have known her beforehand. She's really hard to meet in person.

We've known each other for a couple days, actually. She's super nice. Loves seashells. Very peppy.

But let me tell you, she's been really emotional lately. You have no idea how much this tournament is taking a toll on her well being. She joined to get stronger and insists on staying in so others can enjoy her battles, even though she basically has no battle confidence, especially since other people have put her down. It's putting herself in a bad situation, but now she's got an even bigger concern: that YOU'LL think she's weak. She's gonna die from stress if something isn't done. I'm really worried about her, and I want you to know about this as well.

Please make sure she's alright. Take care of her. She really likes you, kid.

-Krabby"

Oshawott looked the note over to verify what he was reading. He was shocked. A mythical Pokemon that was not confident in the slightest in her battle abilities that looked up to HIM? He knew he was no samurai master, so it was crazy hearing about this. He began to grow really anxious for Meloetta's well being. "Meloetta? Meloetta!" he cried out. No answer. She must've been asleep. There was nothing to be done then. Oshawott had to go back to the sanctuary and sleep.

All throughout the night, he was tossing and turning. He had to see Meloetta again and make sure she was alright. But he knew he couldn't. It was almost morning, and he was still grounded. He was tired out of his mind.

By the time dawn arrived, Oshawott was exhausted. He yawned and limped around the building before remembering Meloetta's situation and attempting to run to the exit. However, his lack of sleep got to him, and he fell on the floor. Buizel, one of his best friends, came up to him. "Morning, Oshawott!" he said with a smile. Oshawott looked up slowly before putting his face down again. Buizel looked puzzled. "Geez, man, you look terrible. What happened last night?" he asked rather directly, but still in a friendly tone. Oshawott moped. "I can't...I have to...help..." he muffled.

"Oh, Oshawott!" said Snivy as she passed by him and Buizel. She sat down next to him. Oshawott, with his head still slumped on the floor, faintly asked "Oh, what is it?" Snivy sighed. "You...um...you got busted. I told Bulbasaur you were taking a wizz and he couldn't find you, so I had to tell the truth..." Oshawott stood up and became enraged. He yelled at Snivy and threw a few punches at her, but he was too tired to even hit a single one, and he flopped on the floor in tears. Snivy looked sad. "I hate to see you like this. I know you made a promise to her, but..."

Oshawott got up in tears. "It doesn't matter anymore! She's too stressed! All I'll do is stress her out more! She needs to go by herself. She can handle it. She doesn't need me."

There was a collective silence. Oshawott flopped his head onto the floor again. "Y-you met Meloetta? THE Meloetta?" Buizel asked, surprised. Oshawott stood up. "Yeah, didn't you know? Snivy told me everyone heard." "Yeah, but...basically none of us recognized WHO you were talking to. That's-that's a really big deal, dude. L-like...a really big deal," he continued, laughing. Oshawott shook what Buizel said off completely.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter anymore. I didn't go see her the other day like I promised, and I can't go see her at the tournament like I promised. So in the end, it all comes back to me being an idiot and getting grounded, which bites me in the butt completely. But, hey, now that I think of it, I bet she didn't even like me in the first place. She's probably just being nice to me cause I'm such a stupe."

As Oshawott ranted, he was conflicted on whether he cared or not, raving that he didn't in the slightest. But everyone knew deep inside he did. And as he continued, it became more and more obvious.

"Hey, Oshawott."

A familiar voice came around the corner. It was Bulbasaur's. As he approached Oshawott, the sea otter Pokemon sighed. "Yeah, Bulbasaur, I know I'm grounded…"

Bulbasaur smiled. "Actually, I came to tell you that you're ungrounded. You want to see a friend. I get that. I don't wanna stop you from seeing a friend. But you have to tell me next time. Ok?"

Oshawott had fallen asleep.


	5. The River

It was a tranquil Friday night.

The lack of sleep Oshawott had the night before sent his sleep schedule completely out of whack, and he woke up at 11:00 at night.

But he was raring to go.

Knowing that he was no longer officially grounded, the little blue Pokemon felt like he could take on the world, even this late at night. He got out of his bed, quickly wrote an "I'll be back in a bit" letter to Bulbasaur, and ran into the nearby bush outside, where he'd normally grab his share of Pinap Berries every morning. Problem was...they were all gone.

Oshawott was shocked, and his gasp woke up a couple Bellsprout, who proceeded to flee.

Initially, he was very disappointed, as the berries normally would have provided him enough energy to last him through the entire 24-hour period. Then, it hit him-it's a perfect opportunity to go on a quest to get them back. And who to quest with other than Meloetta?

Oshawott ran to the beach and swam to the nearby island. He began to rummage through the sand frantically, looking for someone who knew where Meloetta might be.

"Krabby! Krabby? Krabby! Get your butt out here!" Oshawott exclaimed, waking up a nearby Tentacool and scaring it away. Finally, the little crustacean Pokemon crawled out of his den.

"Ugh...kid...what, what do you want? It's too late for this," Krabby complained, rubbing his eyes.

Oshawott clapped. "Alright. Listen up. Every morning, I usually get up and eat a couple of berries from my personal bush. It's MINE. I own it. Problem is...I wake up today, and they're all gone! Gone, I tell you!"

Krabby rolled his eyes. "It's 11 at night, kid. And are you sure that _you_ didn't eat 'em all?"

Oshawott completely disregarded Krabby's comment. "I need help so I can find who took those berries from me and beat them in a good old-fashioned battle. Would you assist me in-"

Krabby interrupted. "Sorry, kid, no can do. Listen, I'm just not really cut out for battle and-", he yawned, "-it's way too freakin' early in the morning."

"Oh, no no no no no, I'm not asking for your help. No offense, obviously."

"None taken."

"I'm looking for Meloetta. It's gonna be a great opportunity to train together."

Then Krabby frowned. "Um...kid…you got my letter...right?" he asked.

Oshawott was confused for a second, but then he remembered the letter. "Oh, yeah, that! Hahaha...um...uh…yeah..." He began to feel guilty. "I didn't see her today...I hope she's doing ok." he said with a frown.

Krabby shook his head. "She really wasn't feeling well tonight. The tournament's tomorrow night and she hasn't trained at all and she hoped she'd see you today. And...well, ya clearly didn't show up."

Oshawott's face went from embarrassed to extremely poised.

"Well, I'm gonna go see her now! We're gonna get so jacked that the Machamp down the road will be shaking in his boots-um...belt...when he sees us."

"Kid, I'm sorry, but you're not gonna make it in time by morning. It's at least a 6 hour swim from here to get to Periwinkle Hollow, at least by your standards of speed-"

Oshawott shushed him. "That's all the info I need, chief," he said with a smile. "Watch this."

He dived underwater, splashing saltwater in Krabby's eyes. His silhouette became fainter and fainter as he descended into the depths below. Krabby could barely make out a little blue blob underwater, grabbing and chowing down on what appeared to be a half eaten pile of carrion and slapping its tail on a large blue rock.

Then Krabby realized something-that wasn't a rock.

Oshawott emerged from the ocean floor, on the back of an enraged Gyarados, joyfully bellowing as he cuffed its crest. "Which way's Periwinkle Hollow?!" he shouted to Krabby. Krabby, quivering in fear, simply pointed behind him. Before he knew it, Oshawott was off.

It was 3AM by the time Oshawott reached the Hollow. He had scars on his arm, a bite mark on his tail, and multiple bruises on his face. Despite all this, however, he was still really fired up. He followed the signs and directions from other Pokemon, and eventually arrived at a quaint, peaceful location with a house by a river, which he instinctively jumped in and played around in for a bit.

Eventually he got tired of flailing around in the water and lay on his back. But as he did so, he heard something in the distance. It was a mix of splashing, roaring, and what seemed to be someone screaming. It wasn't a vigorous, war-cry-type scream either. It was a terrible, fearful scream, as if someone had reached the peak of their strength and had burnt out by doing so, and as a result had the inability to fight back. Oshawott felt he could recognize the voice as well...and he did. He swiftly waded through the water and hid behind a rock, terrified to see that the noise was in fact coming from Meloetta, who was being attacked by a Garchomp.

The little blue Pokemon watched on in horror as the huge land shark sliced through the ground and caused tremors, and saw Meloetta with multiple scars and bruises, as well as a now lost voice. But then it came to Oshawott-if he could latch onto a raging Gyarados to get to where Meloetta was located...he could easily fight off a Garchomp. Overcome by rage and determination, Oshawott learned Ice Beam and fired it straight into the angry Pokemon's chest, knocking it out.

Meloetta ceased her wince and opened her eyes. "He's...down…" she said faintly before falling onto her back on the shallow rock floor. Oshawott, feeling relatively weak as well, slowly tread through the water and stood next to Meloetta. He carried her to a part of the river where Garchomp was not in their line of sight, and put her down near an algae bed. She opened her eyes to see him standing beside her, and gasped, thinking of him as a threat and immediately getting up and kicking him into a tree. He slowly rolled down the tree's stump, nearly unconscious, with noticeable black-and-blue on his forehead, and Meloetta realized what she had done.

"Oh my gosh, no no no no no, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...oh my goodness...Osha...wott? You…"

He got up and wiped the dirt off his face. "It's cool...it's cool. I'm sorry for...invading your privacy. And for not coming earlier..."

Meloetta looked down and fell onto her knees. "It's my fault," she sadly panted. "I got so battle hungry, that I…"

"Pushed your strength, huh…" Oshawott finished. Meloetta began tearing up. "I'm so sorry for doing this…" she said, weeping.

Oshawott kneeled down next to her. "Listen. It's ok. I do it all the time. It never ends up well. You really just have to take things little by little when you're training. Start off fighting the weak ones and slowly work your way up the ranks. Otherwise, the strength of your opponents are just gonna be all the more jarring."

"I'm sorry…" Meloetta repeated.

"It's ok, really. It happens to the best of us, trust me. That Garchomp was a tough cookie." He ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Look, I hate to be a sort of battle professor to someone infinitely more brave, talented, smart, and pretty than me, but, you know, I'm just really worried about you. I got Krabby's note. Uh…"

Meloetta seemed to more tightly engross herself into their embrace. Oshawott could see through her tears that she was happy he came for her. They eventually let go of each other and sat in the water.

"Let's get some rest, ok? You and me both. You'll do great tomorrow, trust me. I'll be right there for you."

"You will?"

"Duh. Is the sky blue?"

"No, stupid, it's orange. The sun's coming up."

"It's a figure of speech, party pooper."

"Singing is my specialty, sweetheart, I know figures of speech like the back of my hand."

"Oh come on, singing doesn't make you good at understanding idioms…"

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't an idiom."

"I'm an idiom! You're an idiom! We're all idioms here!"  
They continued joking around and laughing until they both got tired and snuggled themselves into a nearby leaf bed.

Oshawott could have sworn he felt a light kiss on his cheek as he fell asleep.


	6. All Good Things

At this point, both of the Pokemon's sleep schedules were completely messed up.

It was 8:00 at night when Oshawott awoke to the sound of beautiful singing. He rummaged through the leaves of the bush he fell asleep in, only to find Meloetta wide awake, sitting on a rock, serenading herself. Oshawott rubbed his eyes and crawled over, anxiously waiting beside her. She stopped singing once she noticed him.

"Ahh, there you are~! I was waiting so long for you! You were out cold," she said with a smile. She looked oddly upbeat compared to how exhausted she was at dawn, and Oshawott couldn't help but notice.

"You're awfully chipper," he chuckled. "What's up, Lillipup?"

Meloetta giggled at the mediocre pun. "I'm just...feeling so motivated today, you know?" she said to the little blue Pokemon. "I'm gonna kick this tournament's butt. Haha~"

Oshawott was relatively startled by this claim. "Well...I'm glad you're so confident, but...why so suddenly?" he asked. "You pit yourself against a rampaging Garchomp at 3 in the morning, and…"

Meloetta floated down and picked Oshawott up by his arms, placing him beside her on the rock. "Oh, but Oshawott, that's not what matters. Before I fell asleep, I thought about all the things you've said to me. About pushing yourself to your limit, dealing with emotional struggles, the like…" she said as she slowly flew around him before stopping in front of him. "You have no idea how much you've done for me. It may not seem like much to you, but...you've pretty much changed me. And that's why I'm gonna win. WE are gonna win. And if we don't...well...that's ok. We're gonna work our way to the top together. You and me, little by little. What do you say?"

Oshawott was completely speechless. He was blushing, sweating, and shivering, wondering if what the Mythical Pokemon had said was true. But as he gazed into her sparkling, innocent cyan eyes, he knew that she wasn't lying.

"H-h-hi, I'm Oshawott."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Meloetta! The tournament begins in an hour!" a voice shouted. Ridley walked out of his house towards Meloetta. "Are you ready?" he asked. Suddenly he noticed Oshawott. "Oh...is this a friend of yours?"

Meloetta grinned. "Don't you remember him? He's the little blue fella I told you about."

Ridley laughed. "I can't understand a word you're saying, but he can come if you really want him to."

The three went on their way.

"You...told him about me? You...you didn't say anything bad, did you?" Oshawott said, a little flushed. Meloetta laughed and flew down closer to him. "All good things, sweetheart, all good things."

The two continued to talk about random, trivial things as they traveled before they got to the venue. It was a large stadium, relatively close to the Indigo Plateau. They had arrived just in time.

"Laaaaadies aaaaand gentlemeeeeen….welcome, one and all, to the Unova National tournament!"

"Wait a sec, why are they holding the Unova National in Kanto, of all places?"

"They're all held in Kanto. Gets the most TV ratings, from what I've heard."

The announcer revealed the matchups for the first round, saying that a whopping 32 matches were going to take place on that very night. Ridley was pit against a young man named Kyle. It wasn't long until Ridley was escorted out of the waiting room. Meloetta looked anxious, but still very excited.

"Hey, break a leg," Oshawott said reassuringly, patting Meloetta on the back. "N-not...literally...like...ugh, you know what I mean." Meloetta giggled. "I'll do my best." She flew off, waving to Oshawott, slowly fading from his sight as she went through the entrance hall.

Since the duo weren't expecting Oshawott to tag along and didn't pay for a seat, he was left sitting in a waiting room, watching a low quality rendition of the battle on a small monitor perched on the wall. However, the only sound he could make out was coming from down the hall.

"Now to introduce our first contestants for the night! In the blue corner, hailing from a secluded area in Unova, and protector of the Mythical Pokemon Meloetta, it's Ridley!"

The crowd let out a cheer. Oshawott eagerly looked down the hall, trying to make something out, but he couldn't.

"And in the red corner, it's the rootin', tootin' ditz from Driftveil! That's right, give it up for Kyle!"

Again, a cheer followed the trainer's reveal. It wasn't as loud, but it was just as encouraging. "I gotta see this," Oshawott said as his anxiety got the better of him, and he made a mad dash towards the battlefield so he could watch the battle take place.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Go back to the waiting room if you want to watch; you're not allowed out here," a bouncer in the hall exclaimed. Oshawott sputtered and argued with the bouncer in a language that he couldn't understand, and was eventually escorted back to the waiting room and put on watch.

It wasn't long until he heard "Ridley's next Pokemon is the one and only Meloetta!" He perked up and jumped out of his seat, almost forgetting that he was put on watch. The security guards attempted to hold him back from leaving the waiting room, but he fired a Hydro Pump at the ground to propel himself away, before Aqua Jetting through the hall.

"Just leave the little guy alone, Harold. He looks pretty chummy with that Meloetta."

Oshawott ran out and clung to the tunnel wall. "You can do it, Meloetta!" he shouted. Meloetta turned around, looking a little worried that Oshawott was eagerly standing so close to the field. She sighed and gave him a reassuring wink.

On the opposite side of the field stood a lanky teenager with a headband and spikey hair.

Beside him stood a fearsome Hydreigon, which reminded Oshawott of the time he was thrown away against one in the Unova League. This stressed him out quite a bit, until he noticed that Ridley and Kyle were neck and neck-both on their final Pokemon. Oshawott knew Meloetta had a chance to win.

"Battle begin!"

"Let's finish this thang faster than a tractor in the summertime! Hydreigon, Dark Pulse!"

Hydreigon swiftly fired a beam of dark energy towards Meloetta. Caught off guard, she found herself susceptible to the attack, and was launched backward. Oshawott winced, but he knew he couldn't interfere. Meloetta propped herself up once she was able to, filling Oshawott with relief.

"A'ight, do it agin! Dark Pulse, go!"

This time, Meloetta was prepared, and nimbly dodged the attack.

"Alright, Meloetta, you know what to do!"

Meloetta kicked her way off the wall and lingered in the air. She began to sing her signature Relic Song. Sparkles and magical music notes lingered through the air, fascinating the audience as Meloetta began to dance and sing. Oshawott was completely stunned by the performance, but before he could see the full effects of the transformation, he fell under the effects of the attack, and went to sleep!

It was like that for a while...Oshawott lay on the floor, sleeping soundly, until he was rudely awoken by a Fire Blast that had barely whiffed Meloetta. She was in her Pirouette form, running up and down the battlefield, smiling and laughing. She was having FUN. Again, Oshawott was stunned.

"Finish this in style! Focus Blast!"

Meloetta cheerfully jumped into the air and landed on Hydreigon's back. She gave him an affectionate "Hello~" before firing a huge blue ball of energy onto him, knocking him out.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle! The winner is Meloetta! And the victor, Ridley!"

Oshawott audibly celebrated as the results of the battle were announced. It was a close match, but Meloetta came out on top. Still in her Pirouette form, she floated down towards him and gave him a huge hug. "I won! I won! I did it! I told you!"

They both laughed. Meloetta told Oshawott all of the nitty-gritty details of the battle as they traveled through the venue's halls along with Ridley. Oshawott looked at her in amazement, stunned by how elated she was about the battle. 'Yeah, I did this,' he thought.

Later that night, Ridley had decided to rent a room in a nearby hotel, and keep Oshawott with him for a while. There was a complimentary offer to relax in a Pokemon spa for a while, and Ridley allowed Oshawott and Meloetta to relax there.

Across from the seats in the hot tub, there was a higher quality monitor perched on the walls, showing a battle currently taking place between a Samurott and a Cryogonal.

"I'm sorry, but I still can't believe that I eventually evolve into that. Like, what is that thing? He doesn't even look like me! He can't even stand on his hind legs!" Oshawott ranted as he sneered at the Samurott on screen, who immediately stood on his hind legs and sheathed his swords, causing Oshawott to fall over in disbelief.

Meloetta, half asleep from the heat, snickered. "I don't know. I think he looks really cool. I can kinda see the resemblance."

"Can you really?"  
"A little bit, yeah. I personally would love to see you turn into that."

Oshawott blushed. "Y'know, now that I look at him, he doesn't look so bad," he said sheepishly, again causing Meloetta to giggle. He feared that the conversation was getting awkward, so he sat down next to Meloetta and changed the subject.

"I haven't been in a hot tub in so long. Last time I was in one, I was nearly killed."

"Really? What happened?"

"Pikachu and the Riolu we were hanging around for a while were having a splash fight, and Pikachu thought it'd be a good idea to zap the water…."

"Ouuuuuch….I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I've gotten so many shocks over time, it's kind of ridiculous. Sometimes I feel like Electric types just hate me, even when they straight-up try to give me a hug. You think it's karma for something?"

"I must say, between you and I, I don't think stealing food warrants shock therapy."

They both laughed. Oshawott nudged a little closer to Meloetta.

"Hey, Meloetta…"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'm...ugly?"

"What?! Why would you ask that?"  
"I don't know, I just feel like maybe that's why people don't really like me all that much. Do I smell bad or something?"

Meloetta put her arms around him. "Shut up, will ya? You're adorable. Truth."

"Is it, like...the sorta...pitiful kind of 'adorable', or do you actually think I'm cute?"  
"Doy, what did I just say? Get that mindset out of your head. You're the same guy who shows off and is friendly to people no matter what, and always gets back up with a smile on your face. Stop putting yourself down. You're the one who taught me not to."

Oshawott felt reassured-not just because someone thought he was cute, but because someone seemed to finally be there to comfort him after Ash had left him in Kanto. He felt that this is the closest he had ever been with someone, and that made him very happy. He didn't say anything, and neither did Meloetta, but they both fell asleep in the hot tub with smiles on their faces and serene music playing. Ridley found them a few minutes later, picked them up and took them back to his hotel room.

"I hope his trainer knows he's ok..."


End file.
